1. Pour the oil into the pot and saute the onions and garlic till golden brown2. Immediately, put the diced mutton into the pot and keep on stirring to caramelize the meat.3. Pour in water (or even better, chicken or mutton stock), as much as you want, but I prefer to have the level just slightly above the mutton chunks.4. Put the mushrooms, oyster sauce, pepper and a bit of corn starch. And leave it to simmer (oh I don't know how long, it is really up to you).5. When you think it is almost done, put some salt for taste and the cut celery sticks into the pot. Stir everything about for a couple of minutes and serve. (I ALWAYS add a few dash of sweet soy sauce before eating)

Usually people eat soup with rice or whatever. I just enjoy the entire huge bowl of soup just like it is :)

p.s. - Had the mutton soup with a friend. And we finished the entire pot in one sitting :)

I went to the beach with a couple of friends yesterday evening and I brought one of my ferrets along. He was an instant hit with the people there [like I said, I was the sole owner of ferrets for the entire district :) ]. Glad my ferret had fun digging his heart out in the sand :)

How about posting some pics of you and your pets doing fun activities?

'Tis was the smile that made a few fingers bled. (He's a biter, when excited).

I am GORGEOUS!! Look at me!!!

My ferret resting a bit after completing his big project; Tunnel to China.

Youâ€™re really smart, obviously, but youâ€™re more book smart, than street smart. You like reading, watch the news, and love discussing whatever is going on in the world. You enjoy being around people who challenge you intellectually.

Early this morning as I was turning on the kitchen tap to fill a bottle of water, something unexpected happened. I do not know if it was my prodigious strength or evil fate, but the copper tap broke at its neck and sprayed water all over me.

And there was I already gorgeously clothed and ready for school!

After closing the main valve up front, I took a few minutes looking for a wrench but the metal thingy proved to be elusive. I gave up and went to work (with my wet shirt and trousers. Fortunately I always wear dark colours). And I dry up quickly.

After school I bought an adjustable wrench from a hypermarket (just next to the school) and rushed back home to repair the damage. But lo and behold!! The stupid thing's jaws was not big enough for the pipe.

I grumbled and drove out to the nearest hardware store, with a rather friendly Chinese woman as the proprietor. She advised that a PIPE WRENCH was a proper tool to use, not a bigger adjustable wrench. Duh.... Oh OK, I bought the stuff from her with a discount (the wrench was heavy enough to commit murder in a single stroke).

So back I was to continue my discontinued quest. I tinkered and cluttered. I turned and whacked. It was messy and a really hot job.

I walked ALL the way to the front gate to open the main valve. But heck no!! The stupid new tap dripped like a maiden crying for her dead boyfriend!! I unscrewed everything (after walking SO FAR to close the valve AGAIN) and slapped a lot more sealing tape on the durn pipes before screwing them back on.

I opened the main valve and hey lookie, it worked! With the pipe wrench in my hand, I laughed to no one in particular, and suddenly feel like Nintendo's mascot, Mario the Plumber. :)

For your information, that was my first try at fixing a pipe. It wasn't that hard. The secret was having a pipe wrench and lots of sealing tape!!

I was alone in the kitchen yesterday's afternoon, preparing ingredients for mutton steak with tomato sauce. A storm was lashing outside, so strong that it tipped over several of my mom's potted plants. And I have to save Kiko (the blue eyed kitty) from her cage at the porch because the wind was so strong and it blew the rain HORIZONTAL!

So as I was minding my cooking in the noisy weather (the thundercloud was right above now) I heard something weird, other than the sound of rain and the blasts of thunder. It sounded like pebbles and sand were hitting on my roof!

And who is crazy enough to play outside in this hellish weather?!

The sound was eerily continuous and I had to look up at the transparent part of the kitchen roof to look at the things that fell on the house.

There are little bits of ICE on the roof!!! (Well, for some of you here, you'd say it's no biggie, but... I live in a country on the Equator belt, the hottest part of the planet. Ice falling from the sky is an anomaly).

My reaction? OH GOD, NO!!!!! IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD!!! I AM TOO YOUNG TO DIE!!!!! (being a bad person makes you feel very very guilty.... sometimes).

It kept on raining little pieces of ice. It's not really snow, and maybe we can call it mini-hail.

And suddenly the rain stopped.

Of course I cannot show you guys the proof... the little bits ice was quickly melted by the gushing rain. I text-messaged several friends about this, but I think they don't believe me much :(

I think I told you people (in comments) how I enjoyed cold weather and sometimes wished for snow. I think I just had my wish come true - well, partially :)

I bathed my unwilling one year and two months old cat this evening. My cat, Artemis II Kikuraides @ Kiki (domestic long hair calico) has freshly returned from loan and the last time I bathed her... was maybe 5 months ago. Ok, ok, hold your horses cat lovers, she stays inside at all times and my house and her cage are rather clean, thank you very much.

Cats are rather intelligent animals and she recognized the bathroom and refused to go near it. So I had to put a towel over her head, stepped into the bathroom, close the door and then put her down. Kiki stiffen when she realized what she got herself in, but was quite cooperative when I pour water on her fur before shampooing. She followed me around the small room, hoping for me to pick her up from the nightmare :)

So I decided to use medicated shampoo to keep the bad bugs away from my cat. Will try the apple scented shampoo for cats the next time. I have a friend who bathed his cat every week. Or every time he (my friend, not his cat) is depressed or unhappy. Wow, you must have a squeaky clean Persian cat, I told him. I do not know if this practice is safe for the cat. Tell me if you know.

After about 15 minutes for the shampoo to work, I rinsed my miserable cat and then plumped her into a very thick towel. Good cat! She enjoys being cuddled like a baby in a towel. I dried her the best I could and put her into the cage for natural drying (as my sister had stolen my hair-dyer from me). No, she will not shiver as the room the cage is in is quite warm. And Kiki has the ferret duo (Kaos and Disco) to accompany her tis evening.

.... my other cat, the blue eyed female kitten newly named Persephone Kikora @ Kiko stays in a huge tub for guinea pigs outside (with complete amneties, ok?). I will bring her in to join Kiki when she grows bigger.

Went to watch 'Alice in Wonderland' last night with my adopted son in the city. Watched the 10.50 pm show and I made the mistake of parking my car quite far from the cinema. Meaning, we had to walk far after midnight, groggy with sleep. Do not ask about the drive home.

The movie was in 3D, thus the hefty admission fee and was rather good. I think I'll prefer to watch Alice again, than Avatar, mainly because Mr Carol's movie adaptation was more... funny. But I found the original book boring though.... (sorry to all the puritans out there).

But this entry is not about a movie review. I am glad that my son had the opportunity to watch his (and also my) first 3D movie before he returns back to his parents tomorrow evening (by aeroplane). It is something that he will remember and cherish when I am no longer by his side.

He is a good boy. Easily distracted and very very shy. I know he didn't follow all my advice fully, thus creating a few major disasters in his life recently, but it is enough that he shows respect and love towards me. *sniff*

So I wish him good luck for his future endeavors. And rest assured that his Teacher is always here for support (though unbelievably far away).

I hissed. Literally hissing. It always help me to think what to do next, and plus, made students think twice to cross me next time. Sssssssss..... the air whistle through teeth.

"Who is the class monitor?" the draconian teacher asked.

And the rest of the students in class pointed to the guilty boy in front of me.

"YOU?!! The class monitor?!! And you dare not wearing the school's neck tie in class?!! What have I told you people about the school rule regarding neck ties?" the last question was pointed to all the boys in hearing range.

"We must wear them always and can take it off after school," many answered.

And with a sudden turn (after calculating distance and force during the hissing , to exact minimal pain and maximum humiliation) I slapped the offending boy on his left cheek. It REALLY looked brutal, though.

"I will not have this trouble again. Remember this - Your school tie is the shield against me." (this is my inner reptilian fantasy speaking)

"Yes, Sir!" the chorus.

p.s. - I am fed up with students taking off their ties during class. But they will surely run away / wear back their ties quickly when they see me. Those who are caught will face public humiliation, which is much a better tool than pain.

My mom was away these past few weeks and I had to cook for my adopted son and yours truly everyday, at least once. I am not a fussy cook and my dishes are simple and usually monotonous @ the same (because I like the same food cooked in a particular way... duh).

The left-side of my stomach was smartly scalded by hot oil as I was cooking just 20 minutes ago. It happened as I put onion and garlic into the pot, and there was me without my shirt on. OUCH!! But this post was not about me being scarred for life. I just wanna talk about onions and its pungent cousin, garlic.

I love onions and garlic. Sometimes I eat them (mostly onions) raw with rice and other dishes. Or put it twice or thrice as much more than the recipe required. My nutritional science professor told me in the year 2000 that onions and garlic will do a good job to deter diseases and promotes good health. And she is right... A huge daily diet of the stuff makes me almost invulnerable to the cold, fever and the usual illnesses people get.

But my nose will still be runny when it is too dusty or too hot. I cannot do much about that :(

Maybe people do not like onions and garlic much because of the smell, and body odor... Oh well, I believe in good health, and not what people think. (And NO, I do not stink, thank you very much).